Treasure hunts are a well-known form of entertainment enjoyed by persons of all ages. In a typical treasure hunt game a person or persons follow(s) a series of clues that lead them to the treasure. The clues are predetermined by a gamemaster who places the clues along a preset path such that the clues, when deciphered, lead the treasure seeker along the path to the treasure. The prior art reflects numerous variations on this general concept.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,236,200 discloses a card-like structure with detachable elements. The elements contain placement instructions for the gamemaster and messages or clues for the treasure seeker that facilitate the gamemaster guiding the treasure seeker to the treasure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,695 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,792 disclose board games based on a pirate's treasure hunt theme.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,679,075 discloses an interactive, multi-media game system wherein players obtain directions to various locations by viewing a narrative on an audio visual system and solving puzzles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,933,100 discloses an automobile navigation system that utilizes GPS. In the '100 patent, vehicle location, determined by GPS, and travel time, determined by a timer, are transmitted from the vehicle to a central database via a wireless communications device such as a cellular telephone. The central database utilizes this information to compile travel times and determine optimum travel routes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,646,629 discloses an apparatus combining a handheld, electronic video game device, a location determination receiver, an electronic map and/or electronic yellow pages, and geocoding.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,023,241 discloses a recorder with a GPS receiver that is able to record video frames and/or audio data in association with GPS coordinates such that the user may determine the location of associated photographs taken digitally and may recreate excursions using a multimedia approach.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,942,969 discloses a treasure hunt game wherein clues that lead the players to a treasure are transmitted to the players via pagers. Under the '969 patent, a player's general location may be verified by determining which pager-base station is receiving the player's pager signal and subsequent clues given only when the player is in the correct general location.
This application is related to another application by the inventor, application Ser. No. 09/535,371, titled Treasure Hunt Game Utilizing GPS Equipped Wireless Communications Devices, filed on Mar. 24, 2000, and issued on Nov. 20, 2001 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,320,495. That patent discloses a treasure hunt game utilizing wireless communication technology that incorporates global positioning satellite (“GPS”) technology such that a treasure hunt game can be played wherein clues are based upon the positions of the contestants.
Other location positioning technologies beyond GPS, however, can also be utilized with the treasure hunt game disclosed in Applicant's prior invention. Some of those technologies are described below.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,188,351 discloses a form of assisted GPS wherein the GPS receiver is integrated with a transceiver that is capable of communicating with a cellular or PCS network via the air-interface particular to that network. Standard information provided by the network is used to assist the integrated GPS receiver and improve its sensitivity and latency. The result is that the receiver can rapidly acquire satellites and compute its position in environments where conventional, stand-alone GPS receivers cannot.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,108,558 discloses a method for calculating a location of a remote unit utilizing observed time difference (OTD) and real time difference (RTD) measurements. Other location based technologies are well known and include angle of arrival (“AOA”), time of arrival (“TOA”) and cell-ID. Additional location positioning technologies could also be utilized.
The present invention expands upon the applicant's prior invention by disclosing a treasure hunt game utilizing wireless communication devices that incorporate location based technologies beyond GPS.
All documents, including other patents and references, referred to in this document are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety, although no documents are admitted to render any of the claims herein unpatentable either alone or in combination with any other references known by the applicant.